1) Donna Summer's Bad Girls album. I specifically remember going to Cats Records in Knoxville TN after me, my dad and brother visited my mother in the hospital to buy this album. For the next several months i was absolutely mezmerized by the pictures on and inside the album. I even called my mother in the hospital to play her snipets of the songs.

2) Madonna's Like a Prayer. I was captivated by the scent of patchuli the album was scented with and the "darkness" of the songs was incredible.

3) Sinitta's Wicked album. You probably have not heard of her. An 80's star with pop songs to rival Madonna and Kylie Minogue. I spent hours driving around town listening to this tape.

4)Kylie Minouge's greatest hits album from 1990. In America Kylie is not very popular like she is in Europe but i adored her since her Locomotion song came out in 1988. After that her stuff was not released in the states. I thought about going over to Britain just to buy her albums but of course i didnt. Then low and behold in 2000 i found her greatest hits cd. I was ecstatic and it didnt leave my cd player for months….literally.

Those are the main albums that made big and lasting impressions on me.

First album I ever bought… Corey Hart – Sunglasses at Night

First Concert ever… The Jets

Didn't really get into music until I was a Christian (20 years old in the mid 90s). First Christian Album – DC Talk – Jesus Freak

I think the reason I love music now is that I started out with such a "low bar." I used to try and convince people how tobymac was – by far – the best musical artist ever.

It took me a long time before I could trust 'Christian' music again.

Nobody can hate Michael W. Smith, yeah it was corny but that's what he was going for.

1. DC Talk – "Jesus Freak"

I played this one when I mowed and I grew up on a farm and mowing took 6 or 7 hours twice a week. I didn't change out tapes, I just played it on repeat.

2. Michael W. Smith – "The First Decade: 1983-1993"

I don't know why, but I used to get PUMPED by this album. I would listen to it while playing basketball and think it was awesome. Then I met Jock Jams and realized what a lame athlete I was sure to become…

3. AC/DC – AC/DC Live

Not real sure how this one slipped past my parents, but I think it's because they were rebellious hellions in their childhood and they loved AC/DC (though not openly).

1) Take Five by the Dave Brubeck Quintet. Classic Modern Jazz and some incredible mixing by the engineers at Columbia Studios. Guaranteed to change any bad attitude.

2) Little Queen by Heart. Super album that taught me to appreciate ripping acoustic guitar and heavenly harmonies.

3) Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin. Showed me that every band has at least one great song (and in this case every song). Besides…it's Zep!

4) All Over the Place by the Bangles. I fell in love with garagey sound that backed some of the best rock harmonies in existence. Ultimately leading to great hits like "Walk Like an Egyptian", "Manic Monday", and "Eternal Flame", now they've gone back to their rock roots and harmonies again.

5) Abbey Road by the Beatles. What can you say about that album. I wore three copies of the vinyl listening to it…over and over and over.

and the list goes on, but these are the biggies!